MH-266 Thavius Beck - DialogueOn Dialogue, his third full-length for Mush Records, Thavius Beck continues to push the boundaries of hip-hop beatmaking, grounding lo-fi digital drum kits in icy layers of synths and sliced up samples. Fresh off of production duties on Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust album with Trent Reznor, Beck’s work on Dialogue is razor sharp. This release also finds Thavius spending more time in front of the mic, delivering the type of rhymes that originally gained him notoriety as a member of Global Phlowtations. The consummate iconoclast, Beck cleverly critiques many of America's ills with a dry, satirical wit that never falls into preachiness. With each passing release, Thavius Beck continues to prove that the only musical boundaries he sees are ones he has already left behind.

It's an impressive illustration of what hip-hop can and should be:adventurous, demanding and energising. Will.I.Am take note. - Clash / One of the Best Albums of 2009. - LA City Beat / His flow is as unremarkable as his conscious, anti-mainstream message. You can hear flickers of a possible new hip-hop.- The Wire / Buy it, play it, freak yourself out. - The Skinny

Latest stunning solo effort from respected LA MC. Influenced by rock, metal and industrial bands as well as hip-hop, soul, funk and reggae, having produced Saul Williams' Niggy Tardust album with Trent Reznor and having the Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala appear on a previous song, Thavius Beck's more than your average rapper. In fact, he's had years of experience as an MC and producer. This new album is just the man (no guest vocals here) and sees his rapid-fire, almost spoken rapping backed by warm, pulsing bass and aggressive highs and electronics that make this witty critique of his life and screwed up country sound huge. Across the 15 tracks, including 2 instrumentals, Beck digs deeper than most hip-hop artists - Dialogue seems like a perfect title. The hooks aren't as catchy as they could be but this album is another release, alongside the likes of P.OS. and Atmosphere, which could well appeal to rock, punk and metal fans as well as meaningful hip-hop fans, just on the intensity and passion of tracks such as '"Violence" and "Pressure." - Big Cheese